Abstract
MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 601:153-166 (2018) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12648 Complex genetic structure revealed in the circum-Antarctic broadcast spawning sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri Karen J. Miller1,*, Helena P. Baird2, Jake van Oosterom3, Julie Mondon3, Catherine K. King2 1Australian Institute of Marine Science, UWA Oceans Institute, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia 2Australian Antarctic Division, 203 Channel Highway, Kingston, TAS 7050, Australia 3Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, Australia *Corresponding author: k.miller@aims.gov.au ABSTRACT: Patterns and mechanisms of gene flow and larval dispersal in the Antarctic marine environment are still poorly understood, despite the current threat of rapid climate change and the need for such information to inform conservation and management efforts. Studies on Antarctic brooding marine invertebrates have demonstrated limited connectivity, concurrent with life history expectations; however, no equivalent data are available for broadcast spawning species for which we might expect a higher capacity for larval dispersal. Here, we have used microsatellite DNA markers and mitochondrial DNA sequence data to explore patterns of genetic structure and infer larval dispersal patterns across spatial scales of <500 m to 1400 km in the broadcast spawning sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri. We show genetic differentiation at small spatial scales (<1 km), but genetic homogeneity over moderate (1-25 km) and large spatial scales (1000 km), consistent with patterns described as chaotic genetic patchiness. Self-recruitment appears common in S. neumayeri, and genotypes of larvae collected from the water column provide preliminary evidence that the adult population structure is maintained through variability among larval cohorts. Genetic similarity at large spatial scales may represent evolutionary connectivity on a circum-Antarctic scale, and likely also reflects a history of shelf recolonisation after isolation in glacial refugia. KEY WORDS: Gene flow · Larval dispersal · Migration · Chaotic genetic patchiness · Microsatellites · Echinoid Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Miller KJ, Baird HP, van Oosterom J, Mondon J, King CK (2018) Complex genetic structure revealed in the circum-Antarctic broadcast spawning sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 601:153-166. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12648 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 601. Online publication date: August 09, 2018 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2018 Inter-Research.
Highlights
Gene flow in the marine environment underpins the maintenance of genetic diversity and resilience to change, and has long been considered to reflect the dispersal potential determined by life history characteristics (Roberts 1997, Faurby & Barber 2012)
Large-scale patterns of genetic differentiation inferred from mitochondrial DNA
The Antarctic echinoid Sterechinus neumayeri is characterised by fine-scale population structure
Summary
Gene flow in the marine environment underpins the maintenance of genetic diversity and resilience to change, and has long been considered to reflect the dispersal potential determined by life history characteristics (Roberts 1997, Faurby & Barber 2012). Several factors have been identified that may limit gene flow in benthic marine species with long pelagic larval phases and high dispersal potential. Hedgecock 1994, Hogan et al 2010, Larson & Julian 1999) Such patterns, referred to as chaotic genetic patchiness (Johnson & Black 1982), prove challenging to explain, yet are likely to be found frequently as more studies focus at a fine spatial resolution (e.g. Arnaud-Haond et al 2008, Miller et al 2009)
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